As is well known, a thermoelectric conversion element can convert electrical energy into thermal energy by the Pertier effect, and can convert thermal energy into electrical energy by the Seebeck effect. In order to increase efficiency and capacity of such thermoelectric conversion, a thermoelectric module including a plurality of aligned thermoelectric conversion elements is produced and utilized.
A thermoelectric module including a plurality of thermoelectric conversion elements is disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2005-79347 (PTD 1). In the thermoelectric module described in this publication, the thermoelectric conversion elements are sandwiched between a high temperature-side insulating substrate and a low temperature-side insulating substrate. A lead wire electrically connected to the thermoelectric conversion elements is attached to the low temperature-side insulating substrate. An anti-radiation plate is provided between the high temperature-side insulating substrate and the low temperature-side insulating substrate. By providing the anti-radiation plate, this thermoelectric module reduces the amount of heat not passing through the thermoelectric conversion elements by radiation and convection in the thermoelectric module to improve heat transfer of the thermoelectric module. Improvement in thermoelectric conversion efficiency is thereby achieved.